The 5-10-5 Rule & the Church’s Best Source of Growth
Several years ago, the magazine, “Inc.” published an article that began like this:
“… Businesses tend to spend so much of their time and money acquiring new customers that they often overlook their best source of growth: retaining and growing their existing customer base.”
Interesting! The best source of growth for a company is not in acquiring new customers, but in retaining and growing its existing customer base. It’s a principle as old as commerce itself: it’s simply much harder to attract new customers than it is to hold on to, and expand services to, existing customers.
It’s smarter to focus first on keeping and then on catching. It’s also more effective.
Leading companies know that what is true for business growth and customers is also true for business growth and key leaders: the best source of growth is not found in continually replacing leaders, but in retaining and growing existing leaders. It’s harder to hire and train new key people than it is to keep and develop existing key people. It’s much easier to grow a company when existing key people stay with the company.
Read the book, Creativity, Inc, by Ed Catmull to see how a leading company, Pixar, wows the world on the strength of this principle.
THE 5-10-5 RULE
What leading companies know well, the church has not yet understood: we continue to focus on funneling young adults into church ministry but then fail to follow up with plans and actions to retain and grow those same leaders for a lifetime of healthy and effective ministry.
The church is very good at getting bright-eyed champions into the ministry, but we are very poor at settling them into ministry or at helping them deal with the issues that eventually take the sparkle out of their eyes, but don’t have to take them out of the ministry.
In a word, the church is not very good at helping young ministers survive, much less thrive, in ministry.
The proof? The “5-10-5” rule. Studies say 5 out of 10 young ministers throw in the towel, give up, quit: they walk away from vocational ministry within 5 years of beginning, that is, while serving in their first or second position.
And when – not if, but when – the 5 in 10 do quit, the church has to once again sell the idea of ministry to yet another bright-eyed champion who has no idea the church that is so anxious to sell the vehicle of ministry to him has no intention of walking with him after the sale. It’s strictly buyer beware.
OUT OF MINISTRY, OUT OF CHURCH
It’s not often talked about, but when leaders leave church ministry, many of them leave the church as well. I’ve met many of them in my travels over the years: ex-pastors who are now ex-church. They don’t find healing among those who wounded them, so they live alone with their wounds in the world rather than in the church.
And the church lives without the benefit of their gifting, vision, creativity, energy, commitment, team-building, and insights – the church lives wounded by the loss of its own leadership.
At present, little is being done to break the cycle: the church is failing to take care of its most valuable human resource – its own young leaders; its own future.
Five years ago, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God issued a call to the denomination, telling its leaders and members that the church needed 4000 new ministers. His call came with the reminder that 4000 new ministers would not be optional equipment for the church, but essential equipment: without 4000 new ministers, the church would not grow or even maintain its current status.
“Four thousand new ministers needed and needed now.”
Everyone affirmed this call. Everyone amened this call. Everyone applauded this call.
But few understood the realities that accompany this call:
The sad fact is that if 4000 men and women “signed up” for vocational ministry today, 2000 of them will be – will be – out of the ministry 5 years from today. The 5-10-5 rule.
Companies like Pixar aren’t grown this way. Neither are strong churches.
A CALL TO STEWARD YOUNG MINISTERS
Church leaders need to issue a second call. A call not to young adults to enter the ministry, but a call to existing churches to do everything in their power to keep young ministers in ministry. A call to invest in growing, building and developing those 4000 new ministers.
There needs to be a call to steward the church’s young ministers.
There needs to be a call to the church to learn what leading businesses know so well.
Yes, let’s continue to “catch” new ministers, but for heaven’s sake (literally), let’s “keep” the ones we’ve caught! Let’s develop them not just for church leadership, but in church leadership as even now they serve in their first and second positions.
The most effective – and lasting – ministry a pastor can give himself to is the ministry that Jesus prioritized while he was on the earth. Jesus ministered to thousands, but He walked with twelve: He multiplied ministry to the thousands – and the nations – by individually developing twelve young leaders.
Jesus worked 1-on-1 with 12 leaders to crush the 5-10-5 rule. His emphasis on personally developing individual leaders resulted in 11 of 12 remaining in ministry for the rest of their lives – and it can certainly be argued from Scripture that the one who left was never actually “in,” in the first place.
Our best source of growth for the church is in retaining and growing our younger pastors – walking with the 10 in 10 so they don’t quit in 5 years or in 50 years (if Jesus doesn’t return first), helping them to not only survive, but thrive, so that churches will then thrive as well.
This is the ministry of Journey Pastoral Coaching: retaining and growing young ministers.
Pastor, we invite you to do the most effective thing you can do to grow your local church and to grow the church of Jesus Christ around the world: invest yourself in young ministers near you.
_______________
Saddled with large student debt, just beginning to set up homes and start families, and serving in low paying first and second positions, Millennials are those who most desire but can least afford to pay for pastoral coaching.
We are able to do so thanks to the faithful and generous support of individuals and churches like yours who want to see young leaders not only enter the ministry, but remain in the ministry.
Now, more than ever, we need your help.
If you or your church would like to help Millennial ministers across the US and overseas build strong for a lifetime in ministry, please click here to support Journey monthly or with your one-time gift. Thank you.
We also invite you to click and subscribe to our twice-monthly blogs at journeypastoralcoaching.com
